Artificial crystal could help people breathe underwater

 

^{"Rational exploration of the undersea" by Philippe Ramette}
 

It's the stuff of science fiction made real.

Imagine going diving, and instead of struggling with bulky scuba equipment you only have to bring along a simple face mask. Or people in hospitals being able to breathe without being weighed down by cumbersome oxygen tanks. 

 

A new discovery by researchers at the University of Southern Denmark might make all of this possible.

 

Earlier this year, researchers synthesized a crystalline material that can bind and store oxygen from the surrounding air or water in high concentrations. Depending on various factors like temperature, atmospheric oxygen content, and pressure, the material’s absorption rate of oxygen varies. In addition, different variations of the material can bind oxygen at different rates.

 

Absorbing oxygen like a sponge

 

The work by McKenzie and postdoctoral student Jonas Sundberg indicates that the crystal has the capacity to absorb and bind oxygen in a concentration up to 160 times more than air’s normal oxygen content. To release the oxygen, the material is heated or exposed to low oxygen pressure.

According to professor Christine McKenzie, around 10 liters of the material can absorb all the oxygen in a room.

 

“It is also interesting that the material can absorb and release oxygen many times without losing the ability. It is like dipping a sponge in water, squeezing the water out of it and repeating the process over and over again,” said McKenzie.

 

The material also changes color depending on the level of its oxygen saturation. The crystals are black when oxygen content is at a maximum, and turn pink when the oxygen is released.

 

Secrets of the crystal

 

This is all possible because of the crystal structure of the material. The key component is cobalt with two nitrate ions attached to it. When exposed, oxygen molecules quickly replace the nitrate ligands.

 

“Cobalt gives the new material precisely the molecular and electronic structure that enables it to absorb oxygen from its surroundings. This mechanism is well known from all breathing creatures on earth: Humans and many other species use iron, while other animals, like crabs and spiders, use copper. Small amounts of metals are essential for the absorption of oxygen, so actually it is not entirely surprising to see this effect in our new material,” explains McKenzie.

 

McKenzie envisions using different varieties of the crystalline in layered masks to enable divers, mountain climbers, or lung patients breathe oxygen directly filtered from the environment. — TJD, GMA News